Many automakers have found themselves in awkward positions after investing billions in aggressive EV conversion plans, only to realize that buyers aren’t as excited about them as hoped. Genesis is the latest to walk back some EV plans, saying that it would not go whole-hog on EVs after 2025 as it had initially announced.
Company CEO Mike Song told Top Gear, “Five years back, we anticipated that the EV era would arrive very quickly, and we really wanted to be a leader and a disruptor in the EV space. Electrification is still our vision. We still have 100%-electrified vehicles, but the market and the customer now want hybrid more than EV.”
Song also said that his teams were working to put new hybrids on sale “as soon as possible,” but he did not detail which models would get hybrid variants or when the automaker might start rolling out the new vehicles. As part of the Hyundai empire, Genesis has no shortage of hybrid systems to choose from, but many believe the automaker will opt for traditional hybrids over plug-in or mild-hybrid configurations.
The first Genesis hybrid could land as soon as next year, but it’s expected to go on sale as a 2026 model. That would move the company’s 2026 deadline to go all-electric back, though there’s no official timeline or schedule for how the shift might happen over time.
Genesis joins Ford, General Motors, and others in this realization. While those automakers promise that they remain committed to electrification, they’ve also acknowledged that buyers want cheaper, more accessible hybrids, which alleviate concerns about charging and EV range.
[Images: Genesis]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
